Beginning on July 1, 2023, we are using Matomo to track web usage analytics for Calisphere and the OAC websites. Matomo is an open-source web analytics application that is centered on user privacy.

This page includes information about our Matomo implementation strategy to ensure the accuracy of the usage data, implement General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) best practices, and share usage statistics reports with OAC/Calisphere contributing partners. This page also includes information about our previous implementation of Google Analytics (GA) “Universal Analytics,” which is now a discontinued service as of July 1, 2023.

Matomo selection and implementation

Why did you select Matomo?

We identified several requirements for our usage statistics model, and Matomo surfaced as a strong candidate for meeting these requirements. These include:

  • Ability to subset usage by contributors and by collection
  • No additional implementation or setup required by Calisphere/OAC contributors
  • Ease of access to usage statistics and reports, for Calisphere/OAC contributors
  • Accuracy of data (e.g., no data sampling)
  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance with data protection and privacy

Additionally, as we learned more about Matomo, we found that it is a platform increasingly adopted in higher education settings, which means we are joining a community of adopters with similar goals and values. 

What is GDPR, and how are you ensuring you are GDPR compliant?

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European law on data protection and privacy. It is a growing model for privacy laws in many countries across the globe. It gives individuals more control over how their data is tracked, collected, and used.

To start, we are following the steps outlined on this page: “How to make Matomo GDPR compliant in 12 steps.”

When will you start using Matomo?

As of July 1st, we have fully implemented Matomo to track and process web usage hits on both OAC and Calisphere.

With this timeline, our goal was to ensure there were no gaps in web analytics data, when Google sunsetted the Universal Analytics service on July 1.

How do you know the usage data in Matomo is accurate?

From April to June 2023, we set up a test implementation to compare apples-to-apples metrics between GA and Matomo, and tune our configuration to subset usage metrics by contributor (for both OAC and Calisphere) and digital collection (for Calisphere). This testing period informed our production implementation of the platform.

Usage statistics reports: July 1, 2023 and forward

When can we start viewing usage statistics from Matomo, after July?

Our immediate next priority is to develop Matomo usage statistics reports to share with OAC and Calisphere contributors, with the goal of making them easily available to you on a “self-serve” basis. Since Matomo is a new platform to us, we are taking this time to get familiar with Matomo features, plug-ins, and reporting capabilities. 

We are currently working through the features of the Matomo usage statistics report format and will provide an update as soon as we confirm our approach. If you need to immediately obtain usage statistics reports in the meantime, please contact us.

How can we view usage statistics reports, after July?

Our goal is to make the availability of the usage statistics reports as "self serve" as possible. We will share an update with additional details on this approach soon.

Will we need to set up our own Matomo implementation to track or view usage stats?

No–you will not need to install or deploy Matomo at your institution, in order to view usage statistics for OAC and Calisphere pages. We will provide you with usage reports and will share an update with additional details on this approach soon.

Will we be able to see data specific to our repository, on both OAC and Calisphere?

Yes! Our implementation of Matomo for both OAC and Calisphere includes subsetting by institution, by leveraging Matomo’s “custom dimensions” feature. Our tests confirm that Matomo usage reports can be segmented by repository.

Will we be able to see data specific to each digital collection, on Calisphere?

Yes! Our implementation of Matomo for Calisphere additionally includes subsetting by collection, by leveraging Matomo’s “custom dimensions” feature. Our tests confirm that Matomo usage reports can be segmented by digital collection.

Historic usage statistics reports: through June 30, 2023

How can we view usage statistics from Google Analytics, prior to the Matomo cutover?

If you have provided us with Google Analytics tracker IDs for your finding aids in OAC and/or collections in Calisphere, active tracking of usage statistics in Google Analytics ceased as of June 30, 2023. However, you will be able to access and view the historical usage reports in Google Analytics through July 1, 2024; see additional information about Google's timeline.

Please contact us if you need historic usage reports (through June 30, 2023) and are unable to access them through Google Analytics.

My institution did not have Google Analytics set up previously. Can I see that data?

If you need historic usage reports (through June 30, 2023) and did not previously provide us with Google Analytics tracker IDs for your finding aids in OAC and/or collections in Calisphere, please contact us.

Sunsetting our Google Analytics implementation

Why are you transitioning from Google’s Universal Analytics? Why aren’t you transitioning to GA4, Google’s latest analytics platform?

When Google announced their plans to transition to their more current GA4 service, and sunset their Universal Analytics service as of July 1st, 2023, we identified several requirements for our usage stats model. This included:

  • Ability to subset usage by contributors and by collection
  • No additional implementation or setup required by Calisphere/OAC contributors
  • Ease of access to usage statistics and reports, for Calisphere/OAC contributors
  • Accuracy of data (e.g., no data sampling)
  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance with data protection and privacy

Our investigation surfaced that fewer than half of Calisphere/OAC contributors were utilizing our Universal Analytics integration, and identifying a more accessible solution was a factor in our transition, in addition to factors of data completeness and privacy.

Can I set up GA4 and share my tracker ID with you?

We will not be supporting GA4 analytics tracking, and will not be able to plug or insert any GA4 tracker IDs into OAC and Calisphere.